Chuka Umunna: Heterosexual

Mirror.

Well done, incredibly straight man!

Stephen Kinnock: Deffo Not One Of The New Gay MPs

Hell no!

Not the new Chuka then?

He looks a bit like the young Vladimir Putin - could they be related?

Chuka Umunna: There Are No Skeletons In His Closet

Bruised Chuka Umunna has dismissed rumours of a secret scandal in his personal life and insisted: “There are no skeletons”.

The Shadow Business Secretary has been the subject of 48 hours of lurid ­speculation on social media since his shock exit from the Labour leadership race .

But the MP dubbed “Britain’s Obama” hit back: “I’ve never had anything to hide.”

In an exclusive interview, the former frontrunner declared he was “honest” about his experiences with drugs.

Mr Umunna, 36, also dismissed rumours about his sexuality and suggestions of any financial scandal but admitted running for the top job was “too much, too soon”...

Mirror.

Glad we've sorted that out.

Chuka Umunna: No Scandal

Shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna has withdrawn from the Labour party leadership contest, just days after throwing his hat into the ring.

The MP, 36, said in a statement that he was not comfortable with the level of pressure and scrutiny that came with being a leadership candidate.

Mr Umunna also cited concerns about the impact of the bid on his family.

The BBC's Nick Robinson says Mr Umunna has been distressed by the level of scrutiny on him and his family.

He added that he understood there was no scandal that lay behind his decision to step aside...

BBC News.

Uh-huh...

Update: Note 'scare quotes'. Thanks to NMD. x

Chuka Umunna: He's Never Married

If you thought that a Tory majority government ostensibly being led by a moderniser might dull the instincts of social conservatives then think again. Conservative Woman founder and co-editor Laura Perrins has dedicated an entire post to her assertion that Labour leadership candidate Chuka Umunna not being married, errrr, “sets off alarm bells”.

Those wondering why Perrins never paused to consider whether this is any of her business should familiarise themselves with her oeuvre for the Telegraph and Catholic Herald, among others:

“You back gay marriage? Polygamy is fine then”
“Dave is comfortable with marriage, especially gay marriage”
“I deplore gay or straight surrogacy”
“Mothers are needed to save the family, not the economy”

From today’s piece:

“If Mr Umunna has been dragging his heals [sic] over his decision to get hitched it means one of three things. It could mean he is lazy and is not bothered with getting married; it could mean he is unromantic and ‘does not see the point of getting married’ (as is the way in the hip liberal North London set); or, he is a narcissist and he thinks no woman is really good enough for him. None of these traits is attractive."

This is bad enough when taken at face value. But could it actually be something far more sinister: namely a dog-whistle attack?

Some of the comments below the piece might suggest so...

Political Scrapbook.

Whatever, Chuka appears to be quite the ladies' man, but clearly still ripe for othering.

PS See also David Aaronovitch in The Times Thursday, Memo To Labour: We're all metrosexual now.

Even before Chuka Umunna had made his Swindon video and declared his candidacy for the Labour leadership, he had been declared geographically ineligible for the job. John Mann, the tweeting member for Bassetlaw (where Nottinghamshire cuddles up to South Yorkshire) said last Friday that Mr Umunna could not win in the north. The following day my fellow columnist Janice Turner, having asked whether Labour was still a party for the working class, described Mr Umunna as “a preening metrosexual who’d never cut it in the north”.

Chuka Umunna: Has Girlfriend Shock!

Chuka Umunna appears in public with girlfriend as he sets out stall for leadership http://t.co/xbMYQrz63n pic.twitter.com/ppPluxG22y

— Telegraph News (@TelegraphNews) May 10, 2015

Peter Mandelson: Still Creepy After All These Years

'First of all, I'd like to pay tribute to Ed Miliband, useless sack of socialist shite he may have been. You know something Andrew, we could have won this election if only everyone had listened to me. Remember New Labour, they were great, and that was me. I blame the trade unions for picking Ed over his more Blairite and, let's be honest, much better looking brother, David. As for his successor, we don't want a beauty contest, but that young Chuka Umunna chap you had on the show today, when I was watching him I almost lost my deposit!'

Thank you Lord Peter of Mandy, anything else?

'Aspiration, aspiration, aspiration!'

The look of love...